BAGHDAD, Iraq – For two weeks now Company C of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment has been based at their combat outpost in central Ghazaliya. The outpost, staffed by as many as a hundred soldiers, is shared with the Iraqi Army and is used as part of a new strategy in fighting the insurgency in Baghdad.

The outpost’s construction, which was planned well before a new strategy of living in the neighborhoods was announced, is the first of its kind in Baghdad.

Combat Outpost: Casino, as it is officially known, is surrounded by concrete barriers and includes six houses. Half of the houses belong to the Iraqi Army and the other half to U.S. forces. A large field is also enclosed within the perimeter of barriers to eventually park vehicles in.

Soldiers sleep in crowded rooms with no heating, and have no running sewage system, but outhouses they built and service themselves. In addition to combat patrols, soldiers travel to Camp Liberty daily to conduct their own logistical missions such as refueling and supplying food.

“It’s all right,” commented Spc. Gabriel Thornberry, a soldier stationed at the outpost. “It would be better if we had electricity that didn’t fry you every time you plug something in.” The electricity is produced by generators at the outpost and the electrical components inside were rewired during the construction.

Being based in Ghazaliya has seen its share of success stories. Just days after moving in, Corporal Peter Callahan, a medic, saved the life of a four-year-old girl who was brought in by her family with a pulse below forty beats per minute.

During a patrol in Ghazaliya, Spc. John Laweryson, who was driving a humvee, spotted suspicious looking vehicle. One of the men inside was acting strangely. “I thought either he was wounded, or trying to hide something,” Spc. Laweryson said.

He explained that after the vehicle turned around, trying to slip away from the American patrol, they were blocked off by the soldiers with nowhere to go. The men in the car scattered away by foot. “They dispersed into a building.”

When the vehicle was searched, a kidnapping victim who was in the trunk of the car with his hands bound together was rescued. He was taken to the outpost, and after two days there, his father arrived to take him home in a very emotional reunion.

The combat outpost is a work in progress, waiting for more materials to finish the construction completely. But it is fully operational. Security is provided by soldiers from the rooftop throughout the day, and the majority of the soldiers of company C spend their time there, conducting logistical operations and combat patrols.

Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike DaschelSgt. Lee Sparks, a mechanic from Company F, 2-12 Cavalry, works to repair a generator at the combat outpost

Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike DaschelThe highest rooftop at the combat outpost provides a good view of the surrounding neighborhood of Ghazaliya in western Baghdad

Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike DaschelMilitary vehicles are staged around the entry control point to the Ghazaliya combat outpost. Soldiers operate in them throughout the day to provide security and overwatch of the roads leading into the compound

John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group Arrives in 7th FleetUSS JOHN C. STENNIS, At Sea (NNS) -- The USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Carrier Strike Group (JCSSG) entered the U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of responsibility (AOR) Jan. 31, as part of a deployment to promote peace, regional cooperation and stability.While Stennis and the rest of the strike group, led by Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, is scheduled to transit from 7th Fleet to U.S. Central Command to provide support for coalition forces operating there, JCSSG remains ready to respond to any mission in any theatre of operation. FULL STORY

Hope and Brutality in Anbar

The Captain's Journal takes a look today at the complicated battlefront that is Al Anbar province:

Anbar is a province where there is hope, but this hope seems a dim prospect when torture houses are still in existence. Anbar is still a restive place, with corruption a way of life, the Syrian border still porous, suicide bombers still crossing into Iraq, and Mujahideen fighters still active in the cities.

Learn a little more about this complex and dangerous place, and what is being done to secure it - Read the rest.

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